Tony McRae (American football)

Tony McRae (born May 3, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina A&T, and signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Tony McRae
No. 34 – Detroit Lions
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1993-05-03) May 3, 1993
McColl, South Carolina
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:Laurinburg (NC) Scotland
College:North Carolina A&T
Undrafted:2016
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles:36
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:0
Pass deflections:2
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

McRae attended Scotland County High School, in Laurinburg, North Carolina where he played varsity football and basketball. During his senior year, McRae helped lead the Fighting Scotts to a 14-0 undefeated season and the 2011 NCHSAA 4A State football championship.[1] McRae's performance earned a place on the 2011 All-Cape Fear Regional Team as he was the leading rusher among NC state champion teams with 1,835 yards and 32 touchdowns.[2]

College career

McRae accepted an athletic scholarship to attend North Carolina A&T State University, where he played for coach Rod Broadway's as a member of his first NC A&T Aggies football recruiting class.[3]

2012 season
See also: 2012 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

As a true freshman, McRae played in all 11 of the Aggie's games, and started in 3 of them. He would get his first start at cornerback to replace starting left cornerback Deji Olatoye who moved to free safety to replace of an injured Isaiah Martin.[4] McRae would finish the 2012 season with a total of 23 tackles, 14 of them solo and 9 assisted; 4 broken up passes and 9 Kick returns.

2013 season
See also: 2013 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

McRae began his sophomore with a 4 solo, 1 pass breakup and a 91 yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the season opener against Appalachian State. The Aggies would go on to upset Appalachian State 24-21, resulting in North Carolina A&T's first win over the mountaineers since 1993.[5] Of the 11 games he played in that season, McRae would total 11 solo tackles, 1 assist, 2 pass breakups, 3 defended passes and 1 interception.

2014 season
See also: 2014 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

For his Junior season McRae would start in all 12 games and opened the season with a 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Alabama A&M in the 2014 MEAC/SWAC Challenge. Against Elon, McRae put up a career high 9 tackles and 5 defended passes.[4] He ended the season with 62 total tackles, 46 of them being unassisted, 5 interceptions, 16 passes defended and 14 kickoffs returned for 360 total yards and 1 touchdown. McRae was ranked 13th in the nation in passes defended, 15th in interceptions and 4th in kickoff return touchdowns.[4]

2015 season
See also: 2015 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

Starting in all 12 games played, McRae has a season best performance[6] against Delaware state in which he returned a kickoff for 75 yards for a touchdown, earned 6 tackles and 1 interception. He would finish the season leading the Aggies with 55 Tackles, 14 assists, 8 Pass defended, 22 kick returns for 622 yards and 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. McRae's performance earned him first-team All MEAC and Boxtorow first team All-American recognition.[7]

College statistics
YearGPTacklesSacksPass DefenseFumblesBlocked
SoloAstTotalLoss–YardsNo–YardsInt–YardsBUPDQBHRcv–Yards-TDFFKick
201211149230.5-20–004401-000
201311112140–00–01-0230000
2014124616622.0–80-05–8411160000
2015124114554.0–81.5-43–21580000

Source:[8][9][10][11]

Professional career

According to ESPN, McRae was ranked the 85th best cornerback entering the 2016 NFL Draft.[12]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 9 in
(1.75 m)		 178 lb
(81 kg)		 4.56 s 1.59 s 2.60 s 4.33 s 7.55 s 36.5 in
(0.93 m)		 10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)		 13 reps
All values were taken at NC A&T Pro Day.[13]

Oakland Raiders

McRae was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2016.[14] He was waived on May 16, 2016.[15]

Cincinnati Bengals

On August 9, 2016, McRae signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.[16] He was waived on September 3, 2016 and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[17][18] He was released on September 16, 2016, but was later re-signed on November 29, 2016.[19][20] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals on January 2, 2017.[21]

On September 2, 2017, McRae was waived by the Bengals.[22]

Baltimore Ravens

On September 5, 2017, McRae was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad.[23] He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2017.[24] He was waived by the Ravens on October 21, 2017.[25]

Buffalo Bills

On October 23, 2017, McRae was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills, but was released two days later.[26][27]

Cincinnati Bengals (second stint)

On October 27, 2017, McRae was signed to the Bengals' practice squad.[28] He was promoted to the active roster on December 9, 2017.[29]

Detroit Lions

On March 24, 2020, McRae signed with the Detroit Lions.[30]

References
  1. "Scotland High School 11-12 Football Schedule". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  2. "2011 All Cape Fear Region Football Team Player Info". NCPrepSports.net. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  3. White, Herbert L. "N.C. A&T recruits size, speed among in-state signees". TheCharlottePost.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  4. "Tony McRae Bio". NCATAggies.com. NC A&T Athletics. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  5. "App State Football Comeback Falls Short in Home-Opening Loss to N.C. A&T, Mountaineers Drop To 0-2 - High Country Press". HCPress.com. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  6. "NC A&T vs Delaware State Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  7. "Three Aggies Named HBCU Football All-American". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  8. "2012 Team Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  9. "2013 Team statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  10. "2014 Team Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  11. "2015 Team Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  12. "Bengals sign rookie cornerback Tony McRae". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  13. "Tony McRae | North Carolina AT, CB : 2016 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  14. "Oakland Raiders Announce Undrafted Free Agent Signings". Raiders.com. May 10, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  15. "Oakland Raiders Announce Roster Moves". Raiders.com. May 16, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  16. Marcum, Jason (August 9, 2016). "Bengals sign former North Carolina A&T cornerback Tony McRae". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  17. Marcum, Jason (September 3, 2016). "Bengals announce roster cuts: No surprises among Bengals' 53-man roster cutdown". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  18. Marcum, Jason (September 4, 2016). "Bengals 2016 practice squad: 9 players make initial practice squad". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  19. Toback, Rebecca (September 16, 2016). "Bengals Practice Squad: Bengals add Trey Hopkins to practice squad; release Tony McRae". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  20. Toback, Rebecca (November 29, 2016). "Bengals add cornerback Tony McRae back to practice squad". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  21. Marcum, Jason (January 2, 2017). "Bengals sign 5 players to futures contracts for 2017". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  22. Toback, Rebecca (September 2, 2017). "NFL roster cuts 2017: Cincinnati Bengals 53-man roster". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  23. Mink, Ryan (September 5, 2017). "Ravens Complete Practice Squad With Four Signings". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  24. Mink, Ryan (September 16, 2017). "Ravens Swap Running Backs and Cornerbacks Ahead of Sunday's Game". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018.
  25. Mink, Ryan (October 21, 2017). "Ravens Bring Back Tony Bergstrom For Offensive Line Depth". BaltimoreRavens.com.
  26. Brown, Chris (October 23, 2017). "Bills awarded waiver claim for CB McRae; release WR Clay". BuffaloBills.com.
  27. Brown, Chris (October 25, 2017). "Bills awarded claim for CB Lafayette Pitts". BuffaloBills.com.
  28. Marcum, Jason (October 27, 2017). "Bengals sign Tony McRae to practice squad; Sojourn Shelton cut to make room". CincyJungle.com.
  29. Marcum, Jason (December 9, 2017). "Adam Jones to IR; Tony McRae signed from practice squad". CincyJungle.com.
  30. "Lions agree to terms with eight free agents". DetroitLions.com. March 20, 2020.
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